Read The Long Night for Free Online

Cardassians often had some unpleasant warnings built into their storage areas. I've encountered more than a few electric charges built into the bolts themselves that weren't serious enough to injure me but that left my hands sore for days."
    Jake grinned. "Thanks, Chief."
    O'Brien opened the door to his quarters. "Just be careful," he said. "If you find any old Cardassian equipment, come and get me before you touch it. Okay?"
    "Okay, Chief." Jake could barely repress his excitement. He turned and walked down the corridor until he heard the hiss of O'Brien's door closing. Then Jake jumped, tagged the ceiling, and ran for Quark's. He had to find Nog. They had some work to do.

    Commander Sisko arrived in Odo's office in time to see, through the monitors, Odo checking the force field around the Caxtonian's cell. So the man hadn't cooperated quite as much as Sisko had hoped.
    Traces of the Caxtonian's body odor still filled the constable's small office. The ventilation system functioned well but couldn't work with an odor that overpowering. At least the stench would clear soon. Sisko doubted that after this he would ever forget that smell.
    A door hissed as Odo emerged into his office.
    "Trouble, Constable?" Sisko asked.
    Odo shook his head. "Nothing we haven't seen before."
    Sisko was about to ask more when Dax entered. She glanced at both men, sniffed, then looked at the monitor. The Caxtonian sat on his bunk, arms crossed over his thick chest.
    "Nothing is ever easy, is it, Benjamin?" she asked.
    "I learned that from you, old man," he said. And he had, over many years and many adventures.
    Major Kira Nerys strode in. Her shoulders were back, her face determined. She had been in the middle of something and clearly wasn't pleased about being interrupted.
    "This had better be good," she snapped. "And what is that smell?"
    "Caxtonian." Quark spoke from behind her. "I would like to make this quick, too, Commander. Your friend started a riot in my bar. I have a mess to clean up and a brother's pay to dock."
    "Your bar can wait," Odo said. He pulled back his chair and sat in it, still commanding the room even though he was the only one sitting down. Sisko always admired the way he managed to do that.
    "I take it you got nothing from the Caxtonian," Sisko said.
    "On the contrary," Odo said, "he proved to be very talkative when I reminded him of your threat and added a few of my own."
    "Then what's he doing in the brig?" Dax asked.
    "Let's just say I didn't believe he would stay in his assigned quarters without help." Odo folded his hands on his desk. "I'd offer you all chairs, but I'm afraid I don't have enough."
    "It doesn't matter, Constable," Sisko said. "Let's have some answers and then we can move on." The sudden appearance of that statue had tied his stomach into a tight ball, and that ball was making him want to hurry.
    "Do you think Quark should be here?" Dax asked.
    Quark shot her a nasty look. "I'm the one who found the Caxtonian-"
    "Actually, he found you," Dax said. "I was there, remember."
    "I don't care who was there!" Kira said. "I have fifteen log sheets to process from those arrivals, two dead docking clamps, and five more ships due in the next hour. I would like to know what this is about."
    "It's about a statue, Major. A priceless one," Sisko said. "It's from the Nibix."
    "We have no proof of that," Quark said. His tone carried worry.
    Sisko pinned him with a look. He wasn't going to let Quark have the upper hand here. "I recognized it. Dax verified it. Are you saying that you have more expertise than we do?"
    "I'm not saying anything," Quark said. He looked down.
    "Good," Sisko said. "We'll keep it that way."
    "I don't see any statue," Kira said.
    "And you won't," Sisko said. "It's in safekeeping." His safekeeping. He'd placed it under a protective force field in his quarters, with two makeshift alarms around it. Quark knew the access codes to most of the station's safes. Besides, there were a lot of strangers on